First Insights in the Estimation of the Petroleum Generation Potential of the Muerto Source Rock From el Cortado Outcrop, Northwestern Peru

Abstract

The Muerto Formation is generally defined as an oil prone source rock in the Peruvian Northwest. As other worldwide source rocks, it could also act as a self-contained source-reservoir system; however, there are not quantitative estimations about the generated petroleum volume and its oil/gas composition. The data for this study includes TOC and Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyzes, which were performed by Petroperu in 1986 and Perupetro in 1999, on rock samples from the El Cortado outcrop, located in the Lancones Basin. Although both datasets contain lab analyzes performed more than 20 years ago, modern calculation techniques were applied to assess the petroleum generation potential. It was calculated that this sequence generates predominantly oil (45-73%) and cogenerates gas (27-55%), in the oil window; however, the Muerto Formation is most probably a shale gas resource, due to its advanced thermal maturity in the Northern Lancones Basin.